No Sleep for the Damned

Close your eyes.

Go ahead.

You already know what's waiting.

Three in the morning, staring at the ceiling,

Wide fucking awake but I can't stop feeling.

Every shadow moves like something I know,

Every breath reminds me of somewhere below.

I haven't slept in days—

Maybe longer than I know.

The past keeps knocking

But I won't let it through the door.

Then my eyelids finally surrender,

And the darkness pulls me under—

I hear the footsteps.

I hear the screams.

I know this place.

I know these dreams.

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

THE NIGHTMARES WON'T LET ME REST!

Every time I close my eyes,

The past comes crawling through my head!

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

I'm trapped inside what I survived!

The sun keeps coming up,

But I never leave the night!

I wake up choking on a memory,

Heart pounding like it's trying to escape me.

Sweat on my skin, hands shaking in the dark,

Another fucking nightmare leaves another mark.

I turn on every light,

But the room is still the same.

You can't illuminate the places

Where the darkness learned your name.

I tell myself, “It's over.”

I tell myself, “You're safe.”

But my body doesn't listen

When my mind remembers pain.

I hear the footsteps.

I hear the screams.

The past is breathing

Inside my dreams.

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

THE NIGHTMARES WON'T LET ME REST!

Every time I close my eyes,

The past comes crawling through my head!

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

I'm trapped inside what I survived!

The sun keeps coming up,

But I never leave the night!

DON'T SLEEP!

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!

DON'T LET THE FUCKING DARKNESS

TAKE YOU BACK INSIDE!

I KNOW THIS ROOM!

I KNOW THIS FEAR!

I KNOW THE VOICES

THAT I WISH I COULD UNHEAR!

WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

Maybe the worst part isn't the dream.

It's waking up

And realizing it's still inside me.

The years keep passing.

The memories don't.

I became a prisoner

To a life that is gone.

I'm exhausted from fighting

A war nobody sees.

How do you escape the past

When it follows you into sleep?

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

BUT I'M STILL FUCKING HERE!

The nightmares can scream

But they don't own me anymore!

NO SLEEP FOR THE DAMNED!

I've survived every night before!

If the darkness comes again,

I'll face it at the door!

Another night.

Another dream.

Another reminder

of what I've seen.

But morning comes.

And so do I.